Nail Polish
by twenty-two-spectacles
Summary: Peter falls asleep in Gwen's company. She see's this as a marvelous, and once in a lifetime opportunity to paint Spider-man's nails. / contains friendly banter and adorableness. 2012 'The amazing spider-man' movie-verse.


Gwen returned to her room with a steaming cup of cocoa warming her hands. The logical part of her brain was telling her to go to sleep, but she was restless.

She'd stayed up ridiculously late; doing meaningless tasks in the hope that Peter might swing by tonight like he so often did.

She looked towards the window hopefully.

No Spider-man, no Peter.

She knew it was stupid; he had other places to be, and a worried Aunt to reassure, but she was lonely tonight. It was freezing and she was just lonely. Simple as that.

She shut down her laptop and crawled into bed, sipping on her cocoa to calm her racing mind.

She supposed when Peter couldn't come to keep her company, hot chocolate was second best. In fact it was a pretty great substitute.

Gwen listened to the sounds of the city, which never failed to calm her, eight stories below; the cars, the occasional shout and a sound rather out of place; a thump that definitely did not originate from the ground, but instead from just outside her window. Peter.

Immediately she thought the worst, usually he wouldn't make a sound as he landed on her fire escape.

Placing her cocoa on the nightstand and throwing off the covers she got up to open the window.

A rush of cold air entered the room and Peter clambered through the window as quickly as possible to get out of the harsh conditions. Gwen forced the window shut.

"Hey," Peter said. He was wearing casual clothes, he never turned up his 'spidey suit' – as he liked to call it – just as an extra precaution - but she knew it was underneath.

Gwen looked him up and down, "Are you hurt?"

Peter looked at her with mock offense, "Do I have to get hurt to come and see you now?"

"No, it's just that usually, you're a bit quieter" She said pointedly.

Peter shot her a grin, "It's started snowing" he supplied with a shrug as an explanation.

"Are you actually hurt though?"

Peter shifted his eyes, "No, I just wanted to see you-"

Gwen raised her eyebrows. She knew him well enough to tell when he was lying. "Where and what is it." She said in a monotonous voice, trying to sound uninterested, but really, she felt honored that Peter trusted her with his secret, not that she liked to see him hurt, but she liked that there was something she could do to help him.

"It's nothing."

"Peter-"

"I just wanted to see you" He pulled her into his arms, and leant down to kiss her, but she dodged it.

"Whatever the hell you've done, just let me fix it." She led him over to her chair beside the window, and he sighed.

He removed his jacket and took his right arm out of his suit, revealing a jagged and inflamed looking wound on the front of his shoulder.

Gwen put a hand over her mouth, "Peter that is not _nothing!"_

He shrugged, "It is for me, I was just going to cover it up when I got home and it would be healed by this time tomorrow. It looks worse than it is."

She shook her head as she pulled out the collection of first aid that had accumulated under her bed and set to cleaning the dry blood from around the wound.

"How did this one happen?" she asked quietly

"Don't ask" Peter said, "Just me being stupid,"

"That part was obvious Bugboy."

Peter laughed softly at the old nickname and turned his head to the side, reaching out with his good arm and catching her face gently. She knew what he was suggesting.

"Not when you're hurt" she said, focusing on patching up the wound, which was made considerably more difficult by Peter's brown eyed gaze and gentle touch…

"Not hurt," he whispered.

She pushed his hand away, finally getting a good look at the wound without the grime and extra blood "God Peter! This is going to need stitches." Sometimes she couldn't believe how casually he took his copious amount of injuries.

"Nah, it doesn't-" He started to sit up, but she put a hand on his chest to push him back down rather forcefully.

She pointed at him and stood up, "Stay here" she said in a dangerous voice. He gave her a mock salute.

She went into the bathroom, sneaking past her sleeping brothers room's, to the more extensive first aid kit under the sink and dug around for a needle.

When she reentered her room, ready to tie Peter down just so she could stitch up the wound if she had too, she was surprised to actually find that he had listened to her and not moved. On closer inspection she realized he was asleep. Only Peter could fall asleep in about five seconds flat.

She set to work, realizing it was probably better stitching up the shoulder wound whilst he was asleep.

She tied off the last stitch and snipped the thread, taking a moment to admire her handiwork when she had finished. She had to admit, she was getting a lot better at this whole patch-Peter-up thing. She pulled his suit and jacket carefully back over his injured shoulder. Even after this, Peter was still asleep. She smiled.

He was absolutely adorable; his six-foot lanky frame sprawled across her tiny couch, eyes closed and mouth slightly parted. She reached out to give him a shake and wake him up but pulled her hand back. He was just too goddamn adorable, and besides, it looked like he could do with a rest.

She grabbed the abandoned, and now lukewarm, cocoa from beside her bed and sat down on the floor next to the couch, taking small sips and noticing just how _perfect _his hand, that was dangling over the armrest was.

And then, she just couldn't resist. This opportunity could not be missed. It _wouldn't_ be missed.

She bounded off the floor only to return with her box full of nail polish.

But what colours should she use? She had a rather vast collection to choose from. She looked at the spider-man suit that was visible through his undone jacket. Perfect.

She dug out a red and blue to match, grabbed his hand and started to paint.

"Nice colours" she jumped as she heard Peter's amused voice, just after she'd finished his thumb and was moving on to add some fluro pink flowers over the top of all five nails. Not the best colour combination, she had to admit, but she didn't go to Midtown _Science_ to learn _art_.

She looked guiltily up into his eyes and gave him a smile that could even rival his craziest of grins.

He yawned.

"What do you think?" Gwen asked, holding his hand up higher and twisting it around so they could both get a better look at her 'artwork'.

Peter studied his nails for a moment, "Definitely needs more flowers." He said, nodding seriously.

Gwen grinned, "That's what I thought."

She snatched his hand back and resumed her fluro flower painting. She was actually quite impressed that Peter had recognised them as flowers considering they just looked pink lumpy splodges to her.

"Voila!" she said with a flourish as she finished the last flower.

Peter slid off the chair and onto the floor, now sitting cross-legged opposite her. He held his hand up in front of his face and pouted. "How do I look?" he said

"Like a girl"

"Why thank-you!" he replied before grabbing her hand, "Now I get to paint yours"

Gwen shook her head, "No you don't" she snatched her hand back.

"Yes I do!"

"No you don't"

"But that's not fair,"

She sighed and stood up.

"Hey!"

"Calm your farm, Peter" she said as she got an old t-shirt for him to paint her nails over, "I don't want to get paint all over the carpet."

"You didn't"

"Yes, but that's because I've got skills." She said.

Peter fixed her with a knowing look, "You haven't seen anything about nail polish skills yet." Peter said.

He dug through the colours, pulling out a bright green polish, "This ones cool."

Gwen looked at him in disbelief, "Green?"

"Yeah?"

Gwen laughed, "Peter, why would I want green nails?"

"Why wouldn't anyone want green nails?" Peter said, "Haven't you heard? Green nails are all the rage in New York, Gwen." Then he looked at her seriously, "Why have green nail polish if you don't want green nails? _That's_ stupid. "

Gwen shrugged, and gave him her hand in defeat. He grinned triumphantly. She wondered if she should be concerned at the amount of enthusiasm Peter was displaying towards nail polish.

He unscrewed the lid, and without brushing any off on the side he carefully placed the brush over her nail. There was already a splatter of green over the t-shirt covering the floor; she decided that had been a smart idea.

Peter was sticking his tongue out, and she could tell he was completely focused on the task at hand. That didn't mean he did a good job of it. He was still on the first nail, and it wasn't looking pretty.

"Peter, I think you're meant to get the polish _on _my nail," she said jokingly, "not just on the floor and all over my hand."

"Nah, nah," he shook his head "This is how the _real _professionals do it."

"And you would know this how?

"Because I _am _a professional," he stated, looking into her eyes as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

She laughed and he sent her the goofy smile that she loves so much in return.

Peter put the cap back onto the green nail polish, placing back in the box.

"You can't just paint one nail." She said as she looked down at her hand.

Peter looked at her, "It's a work in progress!" and with that he dug through the box, pulling out a blue polish, "I'm making a rainbow."

"Of course you are."

Peter's atrocious attempt at painting Gwen's nails continued with accompanying giggles and the occasional snort.

"Are you done yet?" she asked as he painted orange over her little finger.

Peter just shook his head and shuffled through the box again, this time pulling out a black polish.

"You're not allowed to look now, ok?"

Gwen was slightly concerned for the welfare of her nails, "What are you going to do?"

"It's a surprise! Just don't look"

So she closed her eyes and waited.

"Ok, you can look now"

She opened her eyes, lifting up her hand to inspect the 'surprise'.

Gwen snorted. She felt raucous laughter bubbling up and covered her mouth with her other hand, so as not to wake the rest of her family.

Over a disastrous spectrum of colour, Peter had written his name, with one letter painted on each nail. They were almost as good as her flowers. Almost.

Peter was laughing too, looking so carefree and happy, he waved a hand in front of his face "I told you I was a professional, I do this all the time."

"I can see that." Gwen replied.

They both snorted again.

Gwen smiled at the wonderful, gorgeous boy sitting opposite her. He smiled back. She loved that they could do this, and that, unlike so many others their age, their relationship wasn't only physical. There was no pressure between them. She knew that this was more than what others had. This was _real_. This was _meaningful._

She moved onto her knees and leant towards him, taking slight pride in the startled look that still crossed his features whenever she made a move first.

But then he would react, pulling her close, reaching up to place his hands in her hair as their lips began to furiously work against one another.

"I was kidding, I've never painted nails before" Peter breathed in a brief pause.

"I would never have guessed." She breathed back as he placed kisses around her jaw line. He chuckled, and she could feel his breath on her skin.

Sometime later, they resurfaced.

"Don't you need to get home?" Gwen asked, slightly out of breath

"You want me to go?" She could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Never." She murmured, placing a quick kiss on his lips, "Won't your Aunt be waiting though?"

Peter sighed, "She always does."

He pulled his coat tighter around his frame and stood up. "You better be wearing that nail polish at school tomorrow,"

"Only if you do." Was her smug response.

Peter laughed, "Deal." And with that, he pushed open the window and Gwen shuddered as cold air and flecks of snow flew into the room.

She stood up quickly to join him at the window.

"Can you- you know-"

"Web-sling in this weather?" he asked.

Gwen nodded.

"Trust me, it'll be less dangerous than if I attempt walking," he said, "Me and ice don't mix well"

"You can't just stay?"

"What would your mom think in the morning?" Peter grinned as Gwen blushed.

"Just be careful." She said.

"Always am," He began to climb out the window, but she put a hand on his arm, pulling him back to send him off with another brief kiss.

"See you tomorrow." He leant in closer to whisper something, "love you."

And then he was out the window, leaping off the fire escape before she even processed what he had said.

* * *

The next morning, Gwen woke relieved to see that the weather had at least calmed a bit. She felt ridiculously happy, but felt that it had to do with more than just the improvement in the weather. She noticed the flash of color on her right hand, with PETER written across her nails.

Oh, yeah. Peter loved her. _That _was why she was happy. She supposed she knew that it was love that was between them, but to have it finalized and put into words, turned it into something new entirely.

At breakfast, her mother described her nails as 'tragic' before taking a closer look to read what was written on them, shaking her head fondly and patting her on the shoulder.

She didn't even care when her brothers took a look and started a chant about 'Petey and Gwenny', if anything, they just reinforced her happiness.

Nothing, today, would bring her down.

* * *

**So yah, that's it. Love to know what you thought if you're reading this.**

**I wrote this way too late and way too rushed... hope the sentences retain some kind of flow. They probably don't. (I just can;t get with the flow!) **

**On a completely unrelated note, I just finished watching Scott Pilgrim VS the world. Again. How crazy is that kid, right? **

**I need to sleep now... meow meow for now**


End file.
